Bearing assembly



20, 1943- w. R. HODELL 2,445,432

. BEARING ASSEMBLY Filed July 24, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fl 'gflWITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORN EY July 20; 1948.

W. R. HODELL BEARING ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 24, 19.45

R O T N E V m ATTORN EY Patented July so, less um'rao} sures PATENTorrica V w Tlam Corporation,

burg semantics of Application as :4, 1m, Serial setters 2 Claim. (01.sea-m) The present invention relates to'bearing assemblies forsupporting horizontal rotating shafts. and, more particularly, toimvmved lubricating means for oil-ring-lubricated anti-frictionbearins's. 'The invention is especially directed to improving thelubrication of horizontal, oil-lubricated, antitriction bearings of thecartridge type, in which the bearings themselves are supported in acartridge or housing, and lubricated by means of an oil ring riding onthe shaft adjacent the cartridge, usually with means for directing oilfrom the oil ring into the bearing. It has been found that when bearings01' this type are used to support shafts rotating at relatively highspeeds, a

large, part of the oil carried from the oil reservoir by the oil rin isthrown oilv the ring in the form of mist and small drops. In theconventional construction, some of this oil thrown oil'- the oil ringfalls directly back into the reservoir. and some of it strikes theinterior surfaces of the housing structure, from which it drains backinto the reservoir, so that all or the oil thrown oil the ring returnsto "the reservoir without reaching the bearing. This is very undesirablein the case of shafts rotating at high speeds. such as 3600 R. P. M.,for example, and especially where the shaft carries a heavy load, sinceas much as 50% of the oil carried from the reservoir by the oil ring maybe thrown oi! in this manner. This oil is needed at high speeds, andwhen the bearing is carrying a heavy load, and the failure of this oilto reach the bearing results in inadequate lubrication, shortening thelife of the bearing and leading to early failure.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide anoil-ring-lubricated anti-friction bearing assembly. for high-speedshafts, in which a much larger part oi the oil carried from thereservoir by the oil ring reaches the bearing than in previous bearingsof this type.

A further object of the invention is to provide an oil-ring-lubricatedanti-friction bearing assembly which includes means for catching oilthrown oil the oil ring and directing this oil into the bearing, so asto obtain adequate lubrication even at high speeds where a relativelylarge amount of oil is thrown oil. the oil ring.

Other objects and advantages of the inventionv z l ctio'n vbeing takenapproximately on the line 1-1 of Fix. a;

Pig. 2 is a transverse sectional view approximatelyonthe linen-410th:-1:

Fig; 3 is a fragmentary sectional view approximately on'the lineIII--IlI of Pig; 2; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of'a cap member.

The invention is shown in the drawings embodied in a cartridge-typeanti-friction bearing assembly for supporting a horizontal shaft I. Thebearing assembly, as a whole, is supported in a bracket or namestructure indicated at I, which may, for example, be an end bracket ofan electric motor, and which has not been shown in detail since it formsno part of the invention. The bearing assembly includes a generallycylindrical cartridge member or bearing housing 3, which fits snugly ina herein the bracket 2. In the illustrated embodiment oi the invention,the

bearing itself is a double-row ball bearing, the

innerraces I of which are pressed on the shaft I,

and held against a shoulder on the shaftby means of a nut I and lockwasher l. The outer races I lit closely in cartridge 3, and are retainedin position axially by an annular cartridge cap iii, which is secured tothe end surface of the cartridge 3 by means of screws Ii passing throughholes I! in the cap. 'The cartridge cap ll has an inwardly attendingflange II which bears against the outer races 1 to hold them 4 firmlyagainst a, ring I, which is retained in the tween the bearing cap II,and the cartridge 3 being made oil-tight by a gasket I. The outerbearing cap I! is secured to the cartridge member 3 by means of screwsl'l threaded into the cartridge through holes in the periphery of thehearing cap, and the entire assembly is secured to the bracket 2 bymeans of screws ll passing through holes in a series of spacedprojections about the periphery oi. the bearing cap II, as shown in-Fig.

-2. The outer bearing cap II has an enlarged lower portion forming anoil reservoir II, which contains oil 20 for lubricating the hearing. Theoil reservoir I9 preferably has an opening Ii for the reception of anoverflow plug, and a drain opening 22 at the bottom for draining oilfrom the reservoir, the opening 22 being normally closed by a plug 2!.

as 011 is carried from the reservoir is to the bearing by means of anoil ring 24, which rides on the shaft I, and which is sumciently largein diameter to extend down into the oil reservoir below the normal levelof the oil 24. The oil ring .24 is held in position. and oil is directedfrom the oil ring to thebearing, by means of an oil ring retainer 24.The retainer 2| is an annular member encircling the shaft, and it may besecured to the inner surface of the bearing cap I! in any suitablemanner, as by means of screws passing through peripheral lugs 24 on theretainer. The

ing, the oil ring 24 is caused to rotate by the movement of the shaftand carries oil up from the reservoir II. 011 from the oil ring runsdown between the two parts of the notched retainer 26 to the bottom ofthe notch, and drains into the bearing, being directed into the bearingby an axially extending flange 28 on the retainer 25.

When the shaft l is rotating at high speed. the ring 24 also rotates athigh speed, and. as previously described. a considerable part of the oilcarried from the reservoir it by the ring 24 is thrown off the ring bycentrifugal force. so that it is not directed into the bearing by'theretainer 25. In order to prevent this oil from draining back into thereservoir without reaching the bearing, the present invention providesmeans for catching at least a large part of the oil thrown off the oilring and directing it into the bearing. In the illustrated embodiment ofthe invention,

this means includes an annular groove 28 formed by a circumferentiallyextending flange on the cartridge cap II. The groove 29 extendscircumferentially around the upper part of the annular cartridge cap lldown to a point slightly above the horizontal center-line on each sideof the cap, and at each end of the groove 22 there is positioned an oilbasin or cup 30. These basins 30 may be shallow sheet metal cups weldedto-the surface of the cap it in position to receive oil flowing throughthe groove 20. A hole 3| is drilled through the cartridge cap l0adjacent to-each of the basins 30, at a slight angle to the axis of thecap Ill, so as to extend through the cap and its flange l2 andterminates close to the bearing.

When the shaft I is rotating, a large part of the oil thrown off the oilring 24 is caught directly by the groove 20. and a considerable part ofthe oil thrown from the ring against the inner surface of the bearingcap I5, and the outer surface of the cartridge cap ll, drains into theroove 2!. The oil caught by the groove 29 flows circumferentiallythrough the groove in one direction or the other and into one or theother of the basins 30. The oil received in the basins ll drains fromthem through the holes 2| and thus into the bearing. In this way, alarge part of the oil thrown on the oil ring 24 is prevented fromdraining back into the reservoir, and is caught and directed into thebearing where it is needed.

The oil which is directed into the bearing, both by the retainer 25 andthrough the holes 3|. passes through the bearing to the opposite end.from which it flows into recesses 22 formed in the cartridge member 3 onopposite sides near the bottom of the assembly. The oil flowing into therecesses 32 drains out through 011 return passages II and flows backinto the reservoir II. the cartridge cap llihaving notches I4 oppositethe ends of the oil return passages a.

The ring member 8 at the inner end of the cartridge member 3 has acircumferential groove or gutter 38 to catch oil escaping from thebearing, and the oil caught in the groove II drains, to the bottom andflows into the recesses 32. The ring 8 has a narrow clearance about theshaft adjacent the bearing and beyond the narrow clearance. is anenlarged annular space II adjacent to an oil thrower shoulder 31 on theshaft. A felt washer is engagesthe shaft beyond the shoulder 31. Theseelements prevent the passage of any 011 along the shaft, and thusprevent the leakage of oil from the bearing. Any oil thrown off theshaft by the oil thrower shoulder I1 drains through passages 39 into therecesses 32, and thence returns to the reservoir l9. Similar means areprovided at the opposite end of the assembly to prevent leakage of oilalong the shaft. Thus, the outer bearing cap I! has a close clearancearound the shaft l adjacent the oil ring retainer 2!, beyond which is anenlarged space 40, and beyond that a felt washer 4| engaging the shaft.Oil travelling along the shaft and caught by these elements drains backto the reservoir it through a passage 42-, and a notch or recess 43 inthe retainer 28:

The cartridge member 3 has an annular space,

or air chamber 44 cast in it encircling the shaft I at the inner end ofthe assembly, and the air chamber 44 communicates with a passage 4!extending through the cartridge 3. The outer bearing cap I! has anenlargement or boss 46 at one side, within which is a passage 41 whichcoincides in position with the passage 45 in the cartridge, so as toform a continuous passageway from the annular air chamber 44. The otherend of the passage 4'! communicates with an annular air chamber 48formed in a cap member 49 encircling the shaft at the outer end of thebearing assembly. The cap member 49 may be secured to the outer bearingcap I! in any suitable manner, as by screws 50, or may be integral withthe bearing cap 15. The annular air chambers 44 and 48 and theconnecting passages 45 and 41 equalize the air pressures at oppositesides of the bearing, so as to prevent any oil or oil mist being drawnor sucked through the bearin assembly because of unequal airpressures.

It should now be apparent that an oil-ringlubricated anti-frictionbearing assembly has been provided in which provision is made forcatching oil thrown oil. the oil ring, so that this oil is preventedfrom returning to the-reservoir and is directed into the bearing. Thisconstruction is quite effective, and is very desirable for high-speedoperation, where great difficulty has heretofore been encountered inadequately lubricating the bearing, because of the relatively largeamount of oil thrown off the oil ring by centrifugal force at highspeeds. A particular embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed for the purpose of illustration, but it will be apparent thatthe invention can be applied to other types of bearing assemblies andthat it is not restricted to the particular structure shown. It is to beunderstood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to theparticular details of construction shown and described, but in itsbroadest aspects, it includes all equivalent embodiments andmodifications which come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A bearing assembly comprising a cartridgetype bearing housing, ananti-friction bearing in said bearing housing for supporting a rotatableshaft, an outer bearing cap closing the end of the bearing housing, saidbearing cap having an oil reservoir in the lower part thereof, an oilring on the shaft extending down into said oil reservoir for carryingoil therefrom, means for directing oil from the oil ring to the bearing,and an inner cap member disposed between said bearing housing and saidouter bearing cap, said inner cap member having a circumferential grooveextending around at leastthe upper part of thecap member for catchingoil thrown off the oil ring,

an oil-receiving basin at each side of the inner cap member forreceiving oil from said groove, and means for draining oil from saidbasins into the bearing.

2. A bearing assembly comprising a housing structure, an anti-frictionbearing in said housing structure for supporting a rotatable shaft, anoil reservoir in the housing structure adjacent the bearing, an oil ringon the shaft extending down into said oil reservoir for carrying oiltherefrom, means for directing oil from the oil ring to the 6 bearing,an annular member encircling the shaft between the bearing and the oilring, said annular member having a circumferential groove extendingaround at least the upper part thereof for I catching oil thrown off theoil ring, an oil-receiving basin at each side of the annular membar forreceiving oil from said groove, and means for draining oil from saidbasins into the bearing.

WILLIAM R. HODELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

